The Secret
by Millersissysam
Summary: Reba has been keeping a secret from her entire family, what happens when that secret shows up on her doorstep? Please Read and Review.
1. Reba's Secret

I know it has been a while and watching a Brothers and Sisters episode I got a really good story idea for a Reba fanfic. All I can say is it is not a normal Reba fanfic…

**Reba's Secret**

She was doing what she always did when she had the house all to herself, reading a book with the TV on quietly in the background. She wasn't paying attention to either as she lay on the couch thinking, thinking of 30 years ago when she was only 20. The pictures she had found in the attic had brought back the memories and the questions. She wondered where he was. Does he know? What was he doing? If only she knew who he really was, yes she knew the name Robert Jeremiah Gray, her oldest son. Only her parents and Lorrie Ann knew, well and Matt the pig-headed ex-boyfriend who had gotten her pregnant in the first place and the pictures just hurt her so much. Every year at Christmas time a greeting card would come with a long letter telling of what had happened that year and at least three photos showing him through the years till he turned 25 and they just stopped coming, Reba could see her curly red hair and bright blue eyes and Matt's big ears and square chin in every single picture. She could feel tears start to fall down her cheeks but she soon wiped them away when the phone rang, it was Barbra Jean asking if Reba wanted to have lunch, Reba said no so she could have some time to herself. Once again her time was interrupted this time by the doorbell and she got up to answer the door as the TV went to commercial, Reba walked to the door hoping that whoever it was would go away before she got there but he was still there when she opened the door. Reba gasped at the resemblance to the boy in the photos but quickly shook the thought away and smiled to greet the red haired stranger.

"Hello is this the residence of Reba McKinney?" the man asked timidly and with a southern accent.

"It's Reba Hart now and yes I'm her." Reba said back to him while still grinning and taking in the shaggy red hair and piercing blue eyes, she also noticed his square jaw and muscular build.

"Oh hi, I know this may seem like a very invasive question but have you ever given up a child for adoption?" the man asked being very straight forward. Reba's grin immediately faded away as she nodded her head and asked him to come in and have a seat.

"It was a very long time ago." Reba said trying to explain.

"Almost 30 years." He said nodding.

"I'm assuming your Robert Grey." Reba said sitting down in a chair.

"Yes I am." Robert said still nodding.

"I only want to know why it took you 30 years to find me." Reba said staring at her hands.

"I found out I was adopted 5 years ago after my mom died, she had written me a letter explaining everything she knew but she left out your name. It took me four years of bugging my dad to find out who you were and to get your address and another year to talk myself into coming to see you." Robert said before finally looking up and into her blue eyes.

"Well a lot has happened in those 30 years." Reba said also looking up at him.

"Please tell me everything." Robert said with confidence.

"I was 18 when I met Matt. He seemed perfect, like a guy I could settle down with and raise a family. He had promised that we would marry after graduation so I figured why should we wait and well it happened really fast and really before I knew what had happened we had sex. Three weeks later I got sick and it didn't stop so I told my mom who took me to the doctor, I was pregnant and as soon as Matt found out he dumped me and well he ran away saying that kind of pressure was not what he needed at that time in his life. I just didn't know what to do, I discussed it with my parents and we decided adoption was the best option. We searched for 6 months to find the right kind of people to take you in and then we finally found Joan and Harry, or Mr. and Mrs. Grey or whatever I'm supposed to call them, and they were so happy that we picked them. A month later you came and let me tell you it was the easiest labor I've gone through and it was extremely hard but I knew I had to give you up because you could have a better life with a stable set of parents instead is a shy little teenager that had her nose stuck in a book all the time." Reba looked up and finally saw the tears that had been in his eyes and she stopped talking.

"You said I was the easiest labor you went through so I'm guessing you have kids now." Robert asked before quickly wiping his eyes.

"Yes, three kids. Cheyenne is 20, Kyra is 16, and Jake is 11." Reba said while watching him react to having three half-siblings.

"This might be a weird question but do any of them look as much like you as I do." Robert said with a little bit of a smile.

"Kyra has my red hair but all three of them have blue eyes." She said also smiling a little.

"I know this may seem weird but can I meet them, I don't have to be a person from your past I can just be a friend of yours who wants to meet them." Robert said softly.

"I'd like for them to meet you but I'd be fine if it was as a half-brother, if you're fine with that." Reba said hopefully.

"Yeah that would be even better." Robert said with a bigger smile.

"Well I was just about to start dinner if you want to help or you could sit at the table and watch me cook if you want to do that." Reba said getting up from the couch.

"I can cook pretty well actually, surprised a lot of girls by cooking dinner actually." Robert said blushing.

"Well let's see if that's true or if you are just trying to impress me." Reba said leading him into the kitchen.

"Tell me more about you, what do you do?" Robert asked as he followed her.

"I'm a dental assistant right now but I am hoping to change jobs soon. I don't like my boss and I have a good idea of going into real estate, I got my license a while ago but then I got pregnant with my youngest so that idea went out the window." Reba explained wile searching through the fridge.

"Why are you a dental assistant if you don't want to be?" Robert asked as he grabbed the food Reba was handing him.

"Money, I had just gotten divorced and had almost no money so I went to work at a dental office because I had worked in my husband's dental office for a little while when we were married so I had experience." Reba said as she grabbed cooking utensils from the cabinets.

"So you're divorced?" Robert asked quietly.

"Yeah as of three years ago." Reba said quietly too.

"Can I ask why?" Robert said hesitantly.

"We were on a break trying to give each other space and he slept with his dental hygienist and she wound up pregnant so we got divorced so he could do the right thing and marry her." Reba said with a small sad smile.

"So um… happier subject, is your older daughter um…" Robert started.

"Cheyenne." Reba interjected.

"Yeah is Cheyenne going to college?" Robert asked.

"Yeah University of Houston, she wants to be a dentist like her dad." Reba said while chopping vegetables for a salad.

"Well since you keep mentioning him, what's you ex-husband like?" Robert asked while frying the chicken Reba had given him.

"We met in college and got married after graduation; we had three kids, and were married for 20 years before we divorced. We are still friends, you kind of have to be when children are involved and he lives three houses down with the new wife and son." Reba said with almost no emotion.

"Does he have a name?" Robert said with a laugh.

"Brock Hart, the new wife is Barbra Jean, and their son is Henry." Reba said blushing.

"He has kind of a weird name." Robert pointed out with a smile.

"Well Reba isn't exactly on the top 100 baby names either." Reba pointed out with a smile.

"Right, well I think the chicken is done." Robert said still smiling.

"Yeah salad and green beans are done too, now we just wait for the family to start coming home." Reba said while getting plates to set the table.

"Where are they?" Robert asked curiously.

"A new movie that everyone wanted to see, I offered to go but they said I should stay here a relax." Reba said with a smile before she heard Elizabeth wake up from her nap through the baby monitor on the coffee table.

"What was that?" Robert asked confused by the sudden noise.

"Elizabeth, hold on let me go get her." Reba said before rushing to the stairs.

"Here she is." Reba said carrying Elizabeth down the stairs.

"Who is that?" Robert asked still confused.

"This is Elizabeth, my granddaughter. Cheyenne is married and this little girl is hers." Reba said while placing Elizabeth on the floor next to all her toys.

"Oh." Robert said trying to figure out how old the child was.

"Cheyenne was 17 when she got pregnant, she married her boyfriend Van and Elizabeth arrived the day they graduated from high school. Elizabeth is three now, same age as Henry." Reba said trying to explain it all to him.

"Ok I think I get it now." Robert said with a smile.

"Hey mom we're home." Cheyenne said as she and Van came through the front door.

"Hi honey there is some one I want you all to meet…"

OK I thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. I will up date soon with everyone's reaction to Reba's Secret. Till next time…


	2. The Secret's Out

Well Howdy! (don't know why but I have wanted to say that all morning) With all the good reviews for the first chapter I decided to update sooner than I usually do but then my computer wouldn't work and now that I am home for the weekend I am writing this on my family's computer. Now that I'm done blabbing on and on here is the second chapter to my third Reba story…

**The Secret's Out**

"_Hey mom we're home." Cheyenne said as she and Van came through the front door._

"_Hi honey there is someone I want you all to meet…"_

"Hey mom." Kyra said as she followed Jake through the front door.

"Why don't ya'll sit down?" Reba said as her family moved away from the door cautiously.

"Mom is everything OK, you're not dying or anything are you?" Cheyenne asked worried.

"No I'm fine. I said there is someone I want you to meet." Reba said as she sat down and everyone could now see Robert sitting in the chair nearest the kitchen.

"So who is he?" Van asked tensing up at seeing the somewhat handsome man in his usual seat.

"First I want all of you to be sitting." Reba said growing impatient.

"OK, gees relax mom." Jake said sitting down on the arm of the chair Cheyenne was sitting in.

"We are all sitting down, backs straight and legs crossed, any other commands or will you start talking now?" Kyra said annoyed at missing dinner with her dad.

"I want you to meet Van, Cheyenne, Kyra, and Jake. And I want ya'll to meet Robert Grey, my son." Reba said waiting for the shocked replies of the family members she had introduced. As soon as Kyra heard the last word of Reba's introduction she stormed out the front door slamming it very loudly behind her in the process and running down the street to Brock's house.

"Hi Robert, wait your what?" Van said staring intently at Mrs. H the woman he had come to feel was more like a mother to him than his real mother ever had been.

"I was 20 when I got pregnant and my boyfriend Matt left me, Grandma and Grandpa and I decided that adoption was the best option for my situation. After 6 months of searching we met Joan and Harry Grey in my 8th month and three weeks later I had Robert, I knew that having two loving and supportive parents would be better for him as a child and would also provide him with more of a normal childhood and better options when he grew up. So I had to give him up and even if that risked me never seeing him because of the adoption agreement I knew that he would be better off because of it." Reba said as silent tears slid down her cheeks during her explanation.

"Mom why didn't you tell us?" Cheyenne asked her face still showing shock.

"After so many years I figured that he would never find out or come to find me so I wouldn't have a reason to, and if I would have said something you would have gone off to find him." Reba said.

"I would not have!" Cheyenne said defending herself.

"Sweetie I know you to well and yes you would have." Reba said with a small smile.

"OK I'm still a little confused." Jake said quietly.

"About what?" Reba asked him.

"I'm just confused, you never told us any of this before so it's kind of hard to digest." Jake said trying to sound older than his 11 years.

"It's OK to be confused, life can get confusing." Reba said putting a supportive hand on Jake's shoulder.

"You can say that again." Van said with a snort that was his laugh.

* * *

Kyra came running through the front door with a loud bang from the slamming of the door and Brock immediately went to see what was wrong with his moody teenage daughter. When he walked into her room he couldn't believe what he saw, she was cuddled up on her bed holding her favorite stuffed puppy from when she was younger, and she was crying. Brock hadn't seen her cry in almost ten years and now there she was and he was the only one there to comfort her so that's what he did. Bringing her up into his lap he held her close and just let her cry, running his fingers through her long, curly red hair that reminded him so much of her mother and softly rubbing her back to comfort her as he did when she was little. He kept holding her until she couldn't cry anymore and when she looked up at him with those baby blue and now tearstained eyes he just had to ask.

"Kyra what happened?" Brock asked still soothingly rubbing her back in gentle circles.

"I don't want to talk about it." Kyra stated still holding on to him tightly.

"Kyra you cried, you never cry. Please will you just tell me what or who made you cry?" Brock asked sounding more like a dad than he had in months.

"Mom." Kyra said waiting for his reply.  
"What exactly did your mother do?" Brock asked wondering if Reba had really made her cry.

"She has been lying to all of us for god knows how many years and she just decides that today she is going to spring her 'little secret' on the rest of the family. Dad, mom has another kid. He looks older that Cheyenne and a whole lot like mom with the big blue eyes and her red hair and when she told us I had to get out of that house it was sickening to hear that my mom had been lying to me for my whole damn life." Kyra said getting mad and frustrated.

"What do you mean she has another son?" Brock said shocked.

"I don't really know that much, I had to get out of there." Kyra said calming down.

"Don't you think you should go back and hear your mother's side of all this?" Brock asked.

"Why would I want to do that?" Kyra asked finally deciding to let go of her dad but not giving up her seat on his lap.

"Kyra no matter what you think right now you should always know that your mother loves you, she would do anything in the world for all of her children, apparently all four of them, and maybe she was protecting him from life with a single mother just like she tries to protect you now, heck I'm not sure. I'm not sure but I think that if she hadn't lied and told me the truth when we first got together in college I would have been stupid enough to dump her, and then you wouldn't be sitting right here being mad at her. Please go talk to her, she needs you kids a lot more than you think she does, and she may be overprotective and bossy and annoying at times but she is just trying to help you, trust me if I would have listened more after we got married I think things would have been a lot better between us and maybe we would still be together." Brock admitted to his daughter.

"OK gees guilt trip much." Kyra said starting to smile.

"Learned it from the best, your Grammy Liz." Brock said with a smile.

"It's still hard to think of mom having another son." Kyra said with a sigh.

"I know but we have t5o deal with it, if only for your mother's sake." Brock said reassuringly. At that moment Barbra Jean walked by Kyra's room and heard the end of Brock and Kyra's conversation, her eyes widened at the news and she immediately ran down the stairs and out the door to have a little talk with a certain redhead down the street…

Well I hope you enjoyed it, took me a while to get the conversation between Brock and Kyra where I wanted it but I think it is finally good enough to post. And please remember to review it lets me know if you guys think I should change anything and it also lets me know that people are alive and actually willing to read my writing. Till next time…


	3. Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth

Hey Everybody! I sent my computer away to get it fixed and I finally got it back and can update this story, aren't you so glad? So here it is chapter three…

**The Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth**

"REBA!!!" Barbra Jean yelled as she rushed in the kitchen door.

"What do you want?" Reba said from the living room window.

"I need you to confirm what I just heard." Barbra Jean said as she sprinted into the living room and came to a sudden stop in front of her "best friend".

"Yes you are crazy, anything else needing confirmation?" Reba said as she bent down to pick up more of Elizabeth's toys.

"Areyoupregnant?" Barbra Jean blurted out quickly.

"What?" Reba said not understanding what Barbra Jean had said.

"I asked if you are pregnant." Barbra Jean said frustrated at having to repeat herself.

"No, why would you ask me that?" Reba said looking shocked at the implication.

"I heard Kyra saying something like "It's hard to think of mom having another son." And then Brock said they would just have to deal with it. But if your not pregnant then what did Kyra mean?" Barbra Jean said without taking a breath.

"She was probably talking about Robert." Reba stated before turning back to pick up more toys.

"Who is Robert?" Barbra Jean asked getting excited at the mention of a guy.

"My son." Reba said before she sat down on the couch.

"Uh Reba… Jake is your son." Barbra Jean said before sitting next to Reba.

"Yes and Robert is also my son, I had him before I met Brock." Reba said simply.

"You did it before you got married!" Barbra Jean exclaimed.

"So did you, and at least mine wasn't with a married man." Reba pointed out.

"OK whatever, so spill." Barbra Jean said scooting closer for the gossip.

"Matt was a good boyfriend and after two years of dating we finally well, had ring-a-ding. I was 20 and thought I was ready but three weeks later I threw up and couldn't stop, I told my mom who everything and she took me to the doctor who told us I was pregnant and as soon as I told Matt he broke up with me and left to go to college. I decided that I couldn't be a good mother at such a young age and that adoption was the best option, in my 8th month I met Mr. and Mrs. Grey and three weeks later I had Robert and they adopted him. Apparently he didn't find out he was adopted till he was 25 after his mom died and then it took him 5 years to get other information about me out of his dad. He showed up today and I had to tell the kids and I guess you overheard Kyra talking about him." Reba said not looking at Barbra Jean but staring off into the distance thinking.

"Oh My God!" Barbra Jean said to stunned to say anything else.

"Yeah, Kyra didn't stay to hear everything she just ran out as soon as I introduced them." Reba said with a sigh.

"So you and Cheyenne are a lot more alike than I thought." Barbra Jean said with a small smile.

"I'd like to think she takes after Brock but I guess if you look at it that way yeah we are kind of alike." Reba said back to the tall blonde.

"Kyra will come back; you're her mother she can't stay away forever." Barbra Jean said pulling Reba in for a hug.

"Stop." Reba said and Barbra Jean backed away.

"Will you go now I need a nap after all this excitement?" Reba said standing up.

"Hold on where is the guy now?" Barbra Jean asked looking around.

"Upstairs with Van supposedly talking." Reba said as she headed for the stairs.

"Can I meet him?" Barbra Jean said perking up.

"Not till tomorrow, we are all having lunch together. You and Brock and Henry are welcome to come." Reba said to get Barbra Jean out of her house.

"OK we'll be here." Barbra Jean said before heading towards the door.

"Mom." Kyra said as she walked in the front door only to hear silence.

"Hello?" Kyra said again but still got no answer so she stuck her head into the kitchen to see Robert sitting at the table on his cell phone she lingered and listened in

"Yes dad, I am doing fine. Her family is really nice, crazy but aren't all families a little crazy? Yeah, on Saturday, yeah I have to be back to work on Monday. I know you be good too. See you later, Love you. Bye." Kyra heard as Robert talked to his father.

"Hi." Kyra said as she came into the kitchen.

"Oh, hi. Kyra right?" Robert said going to shake her hand.

"Yeah, hey do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" Kyra asked as she sat down in the chair across from him.

"Sure, want me to swear on a bible or something first? What is it that people in court have to say?" Robert asked sarcastically.

"Oh, do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god." Kyra said with a grin.

"Yeah I swear all that stuff." Robert said looking right into her eyes which he noticed were exactly like Reba's.

"OK so um what was your life like?" Kyra said seriously now.

"I grew up in a middle class family, my dad worked as a contractor; he builds houses and stuff like that. My mom was a stay at home mom with just me and dad to take care of so I don't think it was that much work. I went to college and have a degree in computer technology and now I own a small computer store with a friend, we fix computer problems and can tell people where to get the best computers for what they want to use them for. I have been engaged for about 6 months now, to a wonderful girl named Daphne, she was the one who encouraged me to come here to meet Reba. Anything else you want to know?" Robert asked still looking right into her eyes.

"What's this Daphne lady like?" Kyra asked smirking at the name.

"Her parents came here from England a few years before she was born; she's from New York originally but moved to Georgia for college where we met. She is tall with dark red hair and bright green eyes. She teaches music at a high school near where we live." Robert said blushing as he thought of her.

"Sounds nice. Did you know that mom went to school to be a music teacher?" Kyra said.

"Did she?" Robert asked a little shocked.

"Yeah, but when her and my dad got married his parents stopped paying for his college so she stopped her schooling and got a job in substitute teaching to pay for him to stay in college. She really has changed a lot in her life for her family, including you." Kyra said looking into his eyes too.

"She didn't go into that much detail about her life before having you kids." Robert said somewhat astonished at what he was finding out about his mother.

"She never told anybody that I know of, my dad told me. He will sit down and tell you anything you want to know but mom has always been kind of guarded about her life, basically she doesn't talk about it much." Kyra said with a small smile.

"She did say a lot about you though, talking about your good grades and how everyone always says you're like a mini her but she just doesn't see it." Robert said wanting to find out more but knowing not to push.

"I don't see it either." Kyra said before laughing at her own little joke.

"You are the most like her of the kids that I've met. Look similar and have the same sense of humor and wit, and from what Van told me you two are the only ones who can sing without making other people wince." Robert said with a grin that looked amazingly like Reba's.

"Yeah mom sang at a bar to earn money when she was younger, she even thought of doing that as a career but reality sunk in. She was a substitute teacher by day and bar room singer by night kind of funny don't yah think? How much time have you been spending with Van anyway?" Kyra said noting the reference to Van.

"After Reba explained everything he pulled me upstairs for a "chat" he told me a lot about the family, well what he knew anyway, and drilled me with questions, a lot less politely than you are right now." Robert said in explanation.

"Van is very chatty but it has just gotten worse the longer he has been here. I just blame it on Cheyenne." Kyra said with a smirk.

"So what exactly is the deal with Van? He seems kind of crazy to me." Robert said quietly to make sure no one would overhear their conversation.

"He used to play football. I think that he just got hit a few top many times. Um… about earlier I'm sorry for running out on the whole meeting you thing. I was just really upset and couldn't stay so I went home but I had a really good talk with my dad and decided to come back. I really need to talk to my mom about it; do you know where she is?" Kyra said realizing exactly why she had come over.

"It's OK, and after the big blonde lady came over Reba went upstairs saying something about a nap." Robert said happy that Kyra had come back for her mom.

"Yeah Barbra Jean and mom don't really agree on their feelings for each other. Barbra Jean thinks she is mom's best friend but mom doesn't feel the same way so sometimes those issues clash and things happen." Kyra said trying not to go into to many details.

"I don't think I want to know." Robert said cautiously.

"I know this may seem mean to ask but are you staying or planning to go home soon?" Kyra said nervously.

"I have to leave on Saturday to get back to work on Monday, but I can come back." Robert said watching her carefully for a reaction.

"I think that everyone would like that, mom and me included." Kyra said smiling up at him.

"Good I'd like to come back too. Relationships are important and I think that even if it starts later in life it is still just as important to maintain." Robert said before they were interrupted.

"Hi you two, conspiring or interrogating?" Reba asked walking into the kitchen and heading for the fridge.

"Hey mom I need to talk to you." Kyra said getting up.

"I'll just go in the other room to let you two talk." Robert said before getting up to leave.

"Jake is in there watching TV if you wan tot join him." Reba said as he left the room.

"Mom I'm sorry for leaving earlier. I had to, you know all the trouble lying did to you and dad's marriage and even to dad and Barbra Jean's marriage and as soon as you said he was your son I thought you had been lying to all of us and I just couldn't take it. I know I was being stupid and all that but I want you to know that I do think listening is important to both of us, it helps so much and god I wish we weren't so alike so we would stop being so stubborn and just listen to each other instead of storming out or yelling. I know that you didn't tell us to protect him and I know that you would have done the same thing for any of us, you are the family rock that everyone and I mean everyone leans on for support and I see this and think you can't be the rock if you have problems but you can, oh god mom we all still need you to be the rock." Kyra said before hugging her mom tight.

"Kyra just because I know Robert and can see him doesn't mean it's gonna be any different between us. I will still be here for you to lean on when school or boys or living with Barbra Jean gets to overwhelming for you, I will be here for everyone and now that includes one more person, OK so there's a little difference." Reba said smiling as her daughter continued to hug her.

"Mom I love you no matter what. Please forgive me for running out and not listening." Kyra asked as she leaned out of her mother's embrace to look her in the eye.

"Yes I forgive you for being stubborn, bull-headed, and sometimes annoying just like both your parents and all four of your grandparents." Reba said smiling at Kyra.

"Thanks now go talk to Robert. You know him staying wouldn't be that bad." Kyra said hopefully.

"You like him too. That's yes votes from you, Cheyenne, Van, Elizabeth, and Jake so I guess I should tell him." Reba said before going towards the door to the living room.

"Jake can you go upstairs for a little so I can talk to Robert?" Reba asked as she entered the room.

"Sure whatever." Jake said getting up while still playing on his handheld video game.

"Oh no I'm in trouble." Robert said as he turned off the TV.

"No I just wanted to talk. You know they all like you, glowing compliments and invitations of having you stay. That is extremely unusual for my kids, they disapprove of every single person I have every brought home." Reba said sitting down next to him.

"Well I'm related so technically it's a little different. So rave reviews are good." Robert said smiling at her.

"The people wanting you to stay include me but I know you have a life already in Georgia so I must as parents do, let you go. But you must promise to check in every once in a while that includes calls, e-mails, and visits to everyone here." Reba said looking at him sternly.

"OK that I can do, but I don't have to leave till Saturday so let's enjoy the three days I have left of my vacation, preferably as a family." Robert said smiling as he gave her a quick hug to get his point across.

"Alright but lets wait till morning it's already dark out." Reba pointed out as she flipped back on the TV to watch a show with her already grown son.

OK so that was chapter 3, probably one more chapter coming but it will probably be more of a epilogue to end the story and I have no clue when I will have it finished. Remember to leave a comment. Till next time…


	4. Looking Forward

Time for an update, with all this craziness that has been going on at my house there has not been time to update but finally I have time so here is the last chapter of this story just to let you know it takes place 5 years later or 2 years after the series ends so I am adding some things from the later years of the show…

**Looking Forward/ Epilogue**

"Mom we're here." Cheyenne yelled as she came in the door.

"Gamaw Weeba." Cheyenne's son Vic yelled as he ran into the kitchen and clasped onto his grandmother's leg.

"Hi sweetie Grandma needs her leg back if you want your Christmas dinner." Reba said as she tried to coax the little boy off of her.

"What are you making Mrs. H?" Van asked as he came into the kitchen to help with Vic.

"Same thing I make for Christmas every year." Reba said before finally getting Vic off her leg.

"So who else is here?" Cheyenne said coming into the kitchen with Elizabeth trailing behind her.

"Well Jake is always here, Kyra's band dropped her off last night, and Robert and Daphne are supposed to be here any minute now." Reba said before turning back to the counter to continue cooking.

"How far along is she now?" Cheyenne asked as she sat down to talk to her mom.

"About 6 months, I'm so excited for another grandbaby. And we should be able to feel kicking by now." Reba said getting excited about the new edition.

"When are Barbra Jean and Mr. H going to be over?" Van asked as he started tickling both kids.

"About noon is what Barbra Jean told me yesterday, she still wants to help with the cooking and I can't talk her out of it. You know she is going to be bugging me all day." Reba complained to her children.

"You shouldn't have told her she was your best friend, now she won't leave you alone." Cheyenne said as she tried to break up the tickling fight between her husband and kids.

"Just be glad her and Mr. H and Henry go to visit her family on Thanksgiving." Van said in gasps as he had trouble breathing from all the activity.

"Hey noise makers." Kyra said as she came into the kitchen still in her pjs.

"Hi to you to sleepy head." Reba said as she turned to watch her youngest daughter sit grumpily on a stool.

"Have you ever heard no loud noises before eleven am?" Kyra asked Van and the kids.

"It's ten thirty so it's not that far away." Van pointed out.

"Doesn't that only apply at like hotels?" Cheyenne asked confused.

"You need to be up and dressed by the time Robert and Daphne get here." Reba pointed out right before they hear the doorbell ring.

"And that should be them now, wake Jake up while you're up there." Reba said as she went towards the front door, Kyra trailing behind her.

"Oh great and I'm not even dressed yet." Kyra said as she rushed in front of her mother to get up the stairs in time to not be seen.

"Oh my lord, look at you two." Reba said as she opened the door to find her oldest son and his wife of two years.

"Now I know we just drove through four states but I didn't think we looked that bad." Robert said jokingly as he hugged Reba.

"Not bad you both look so darn cute, and you don't come here often enough so I don't get to see you that much." Reba said as she went from hugging her son to his wife.

"Careful there's precious cargo there." Robert said as Reba hugged Daphne.

"And of course he is talking about the munchkin, not me." Daphne said with a smile and a little bit of a New York accent.

"Well I agree, that's my grandbaby in there, but you're precious cargo too." Reba said as she leaned back to look at Daphne's growing stomach again.

"You can touch my stomach." Daphne said so used to people asking that she answered before Reba could ask.

"Thank you." Reba said before carefully placing her hand above the bellybutton to feel three hard kicks.

"Wonderful." Reba said with a sigh.

"Isn't it?" Daphne said with the biggest smile Reba had seen from her.

"Hey." Jake said as he entered the living room from the stairs.

"Hey, you just getting up?" Robert asked as Jake went towards the kitchen.

"Yeah I'm a teenager we typically like to sleep in on days we don't have school." Jake remarked before he went to find breakfast.

"Bright ray of sunshine those teenage years." Reba said with a smile.

"How do you make it smell so good in here all the time?" Daphne asked taking in a deep breath of the cooking food.

"As my mother says 'Cooking food makes every house a home' and it could have something to do with Christmas cookies." Reba said while leading them into the kitchen.

"Yum" Robert said quietly as he snuck one while Reba was turned around facing the table.

"Put that back Robert." Reba said still facing Cheyenne and Daphne at the table.

"How did you do that?" Robert asked as he reluctantly put the cookie back on the plate.

"Just a little something us mother's can do." Reba said smiling at Daphne.

"Reba." Barbra Jean called as she entered the front door with Brock and Henry right behind her.

"In the kitchen." Reba called in response.

"Hey Brock." Robert said from the couch with Daphne's feet in his lap as he massaged them.

"Hey Robert, Hi Daphne." Brock said as he took Barbra Jean's coat and hung it up.

"Is the food almost done Mrs. H?" Van asked from his seat in the living room.

"The ham has thirty more minutes and everything else should be done a little bit before that." Reba said from her assigned spot behind the counter in the kitchen.

"Good I'll come and help." Barbra Jean said as she made her way into the kitchen.

"Don't bother Barbra Jean, I'm just finishing up." Reba yelled from the kitchen.

"Mom you won't let any of us kids help why don't you let Barbra Jean?" Kyra said from her seat at the table by Cheyenne.

"Because she would be more of a hindrance then help." Reba whispered harshly before Barbra Jean walked into the kitchen.

"Wow how much food are you making Reba?" Barbra Jean asked after seeing the piles of casserole dishes lined up on the counter waiting to be cooked and moved to the table.

"Enough to feed seven adults, two teenagers, two kids, and a toddler, or twelve people total." Reba said counting all the people as she listed them.

"Wow I never realize how big our family is till the holidays." Cheyenne said at the amount.

"Why don't you make that number smaller and go eat at home?" Kyra asked as nicely as she could.

"Kyra be nice." Reba scolded as she turned to check the oven.

"Yeah Kyra." Cheyenne said tauntingly.

"Don't egg her on Cheyenne." Reba said bending back up from the oven.

"Food done yet?" Van yelled from the living room.

"Stop asking or your not getting any food today." Reba said with a dead serious look.

"Red's in a mood?" Brock asked quietly to the group in the living room.

"Not till Barbra Jean got here." Daphne pointed out quietly.

"Hey mom can you please tell me how long it will be till the food is done?" Robert asked politely.

"Why do you want to know?" Reba asked with a glare.

"Well you see I have a pregnant wife who takes about ten minutes longer to get to places like the table and I want to know if we should start heading there now or in a few minutes." Robert said condescendingly.

"Five more minutes OK, now all of ya'll please leave me alone to cook in peace." Reba said while shooing the three girls out of her kitchen.

"She kicked us out." Cheyenne stated unhappily while sitting on her husband's lap.

"You shouldn't be in there unless you are helping with the cooking anyway." Kyra pointed out.

"You know she wouldn't have any of us help, and I did offer." Cheyenne said to her sister.

"She likes it when I help her cook." Robert and Kyra both said at the same time.

"Because you two got her cooking skills." Brock pointed out making Cheyenne frown.

"Stop talking about me." Reba said from the kitchen.

"Sorry mom." Robert, Cheyenne, and Kyra said at the same time.

"Dinner is ready go wash up, with soap, and Brock can you tell the kids upstairs to wash up and come down for dinner." Reba asked while taking off her apron.

"Sure one teen and three munchkins coming right up, or down." Brock said with a smile.

Gathered around the dining room table the family filled their plates and laughed and talked until Reba had them quiet for the prayer.

"Dear Lord, Thank you for all that you have given us this year, a new edition to the family is on its way," Reba said looking at Robert and Daphne "Kyra's safety while touring, and everyone in good health," she continued looking from Kyra to the younger kids "good grades for Jake, a college graduate," she added looking at Jake then Cheyenne "peaceful times, and friendship," Reba said looking between Barbra Jean and Brock before finishing "but most importantly thank you for family, no matter how long they have been with us or how they came into our family we thank you for them everyday, Amen." Reba finished

"Amen." The family echoed with smiles and some with tears in their eyes.

"Now let's dig in." Reba said with a smile.

The family continued with their evening, having a fun time eating, singing, and playing around. They had accepted each other with all of each others faults and that made their crazy wacky dysfunctional family one of the most functional families ever.

Hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I know it is not Christmas but I had to think of a good reason for everyone to come together and at my house that time is Christmas. Remember to review and tell me what you think of the ending. Till the next story…


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